By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
THREE years ago Berwick mum, Carolyn King, took a handful of sleeping tablets in an attempt to end her life, having battled depression and low self-esteem.
She is now a confident author with a journal of notes to share on her darkest days.
Ms King’s easy read is titled, ‘Empowered Happiness – Discovering Bliss Beyond Depression,’ and it all started with her damaging thoughts, “I don’t want to be here.”
“I hit rock bottom, I didn’t consciously say I wanted to die, I just didn’t want to be here, I didn’t have the capacity to think deeply about it, I just wanted to get away,” Ms King said.
It was her husband, Lloyd, who found her in the tragic state, but it was Ms King who picked herself up again.
“Lloyd discovered the tablets I had taken weren’t that strong and that was the turning point, I think it scared me that I had actually thought about finishing my life,” Ms King said.
Factors that led to Ms King’s despair included hormonal inbalances after giving birth to her two children, Aaliyah, 10, and Jordan, 8, and her constant confidence issues stemming from childhood.
“All my life I have had a problem with my self-esteem, and I wasn’t aware of the hormonal changes I was going through after my second child, but I knew I had a problem, I just didn’t know how to fix it,” she said.
“At the time I was getting a lot of attention from people, and I would whinge about it.”
Ms King, 41, is a practising kinesiologist and said she used her knowledge in natural health to help overcome her own crimping evil, never to touch anti-depressants.
“I went to a counsellor, and it took about a year from that point that I felt I was over it,” she said.
“But then I thought how did I do that, I need to find out so I can help people.”
“Because when I was suffering depression, people would say to me ‘get over it’, ‘there’s nothing going on, what’s your problem’ and part of the reason for my book is to educate on a bigger scale.
“It’s about showing people that you can change those thought patterns and if you are consistent you can come out a better you.
“I am feeling 100 per cent now, and I don’t mind what people think of me anymore.”
It was Ms King’s own personal journal that has transformed into an empowering story and work book for readers.
“There are places to write your own notes, and it’s like a work book, I want people to realise that it’s not all gloom and doom,” she said.
Since publishing her story and launching it at the Old Cheese Factory in Berwick last month, Ms King has had a positive response from readers.
“People have said how relatable it is and every chapter I have a call to action with three exercises they can do to implement the changes in their lives,” she said.
Ms King describes herself as being fully confident and has learnt to remove herself from situations and people who don’t make her feel good.
“I’ve realised I don’t need to have 100 friends everywhere and that everyone doesn’t have to like me.”
To buy ‘Empowered Happiness – Discovering Bliss Beyond Depression’ visit: www.empowerkin.com.au
